The Hand
by littlebabyturtlelove
Summary: Arinna and Nicole's life just got super weird with the new addition of two baby turtles to their family. And apparently, they aren't the only two joining. The craziness that happens just might be the end of them. AN OC STORY! Anyone can join! Basically my gift to you amazing readers to add any OC character you want! Read bottom of first chapter for a quick note.LETS HAVE SOME FUN!
1. Chapter 1

**ATTENTION EVERYONE! IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT. **

**I wanna say this is kind of an AU story... sort of... kind of. Yeah **

**I'm not sure how to explain what kind of story this is, but I will try my best. This is a story FOR THE REVIEWERS! When I say this, I mean that you guys will be the ones deciding what happens in this story :D At least to as far as I am able to do XD**

**This is a THANK YOU STORY for all my reviewers and viewers for all your support and kind words throughout the year! Seriously guys, thank you so much. **

**SO, I'm giving you guys this story. You can do any of the three things. **

**1)****Send me a character that you want to add into this story**

**2)****During any chapter you can send me a message on what you want to happen with your character, or perhaps even with other characters. Interactions, events, all that. XD**

**3)****ENJOY THE CHAPTERS Or just not read this story. This is an OC story after all, and some of you guys don't like OC stories. Which is okay, I can understand why you wouldn't like those. But this story is really just for you guys :D**

**OH! And another important thing.**

**DON"T MIND THE TITLE! I know the title sounds weird, and it might not make sense right now, but it'll make sense in future chapters, I promise.**

**I shall also take any ideas you have, or at least, I will try to. I wanna try and make this story realistic to a certain point, so try not to give me too crazy of ideas. **

**Examples would be: ….Suddenly an alien with the power to control minds crashed through the wall possessing Nicole and having her stab Arinna with a spoon until she bleed out gummy bears…. **

**Stuff like that XD Though that does sound kind of funny. **

**Anyway, here we go!**

Nicole was 20 years old and had a mission.

….A crazy, strange, and out of this world mission, but she wouldn't change her mind about what she was doing. She wouldn't regret it either.

She just thought it was weird. Why her? Why was she placed in this kind of situation? It was usually Arinna who got involved in weird phenomenons.

…And that is actually what happened. Arinna got involved in some weird stuff and just dragged Nicole along for the ride. That is how things have always gone in their friendship.

Nicole wasn't joking with this. When Arinna got involved, the ride known as their friendship was like a never ending roller coaster that is only made up of loops, scary dark tunnels, flashing cameras, and questionably stable support beams that creaked and screeched, but never seemed to break.

So Nicole wasn't really surprised when Arinna suddenly banged against her door at 3 A.M in the morning. Stumbling out of bed and to the door, Nicole swung it open with a grunt.

"Huh?" she grumbled, squinting at her unwanted guests.

"Nicole!' As soon as the door was open, Arinna called out her name. Realizing she was standing in an apartment complex and had practically screamed it, Arinna shrunk, took a quick glance around, and tried again. "Nicole." she said in a voice so quiet, she almost couldn't hear. There was a panic nervousness in her voice that Nicole hadn't heard for a long time.

"…What?" she asked hesitantly, afraid to know the answer.  
>"You're my best friend. I can… I can trust you with anything, right?" Arinna shifted her weight on her heels, switching her gaze from Nicole to her feet nervously. It wasn't often that Nicole saw her friend so distressed and worried.<p>

"Yeah Arinna. Of course you can." Nicole stepped out of her apartment and into the hall. "What's troubling ya?"

"You… you can't tell anyone, okay? I mean it Nicole, this is super serious." Arinna stammered out. "You can't even tell your parents or brother!"

"Arinna." Nicole said.

"I mean it! Not a soul!" Arinna was glaring at Nicole, her nose scrunched and her lips slightly puckered.

…It was more of an angry pout than a glare, Nicole decided.

"Okay." She held her hands up. "I promise not to tell anyone."

"Scouts honor?"  
>"I was never a good girl scout."<p>

Arinna huffed. "Then I'm leaving. I'll handle this one my own-"

"Wait-" Nicole grabbed her arm. "I'm kidding. I swear on my whole career and on my parent's eventual grave not to tell anyone." Nicole didn't know what exactly she was promising too. Most likely something strange that will cause her a lot of trouble and maybe even put her in danger.

That happened sometimes when Arinna made you promise something.

But she would make the promise anyway. Arinna was her best friend after all. They made a pact when they were younger while playing in the mud that they would always have each other's backs, even if they were miles away from each other. They were mud Sisters. (Yes, that is a thing)

It was actually the main reason Nicole stayed here in New York; too look after Arinna. With no family, the recent lost of her older brother and with her basically living on the streets, Nicole swore to help Arinna as much as she could. And as much as Arinna would allow.

She had offered to let Arinna stay with her, but she didn't want to cause her trouble. So Arinna refused, saying she could figure out her own problems. She said she was fine with the life of a hobo.

Though who is ever completely okay with the life of a Hobo?

Arinna was nodding to herself, as if second guessing her decision to come her. She took another glance around. "So um… okay, this is gonna sound strange."

"I have no doubt."

"I was on the other side of town, going through trash cans-"

"Gross."

"When I heard something moving… in the trash can."

"Probably a Cat."

"When I moved the trash bags-"

"That is really unsanitary-"

"Stop interrupting!" Arinna snapped, throwing her hands down in anger. Nicole quickly held her hands up in surrender.

"Sorry, go on."

"….When I moved the trash bags I found something. Something kind of weird."

"Well it is the trash. Who knows what people throw out now a days?"

"Exactly what I was thinking." Arinna was nodding her head. "So I thought I would take a peek but… then they started to cry."

Okay, that was weird. "It started… to cry." Nicole repeated the words slowly. "Wait did you say _They? They started to cry?"_

"Yeah." She nodded. "Like um… babies. And, y'know, that really freaked me out, cause I thought it was a baby. And I mean, who in the world is cruel enough to put some babies in the trash, right?"  
>"…Right." Nicole nodded numbly. "But they weren't babies, right?"<p>

Arinna hesitated. "Kind of?"  
>"What do you mean kind of?"<p>

"It is exactly what I mean. They are babies, but they aren't babies all the same." She was waving her arms around frantically. "And that is why I am here, because I couldn't just leave them there, so I brought them with me and now I don't know what to do!"

"You brought them with you-?!" Nicole held up a finger. "Wait, I should have known you would do something like that. Just tell me one thing, was exactly _is it _that you brought here_?" _

Arinna stood there for a few seconds, chewing on her bottom lip. Taking a step backwards, away from the apartment door, Arinna shuffled to a plant that was pushed into the corner of the hallway. Reaching behind the plant, where she had apparently hid something, Arinna pulled out a box.

"…This." She announced

"A box?"

"No, they are inside the box."

"Well, open the box."

"I can't do it out here. Someone might come by." Arinna hissed, taking another sweep of the perimeter. "Can we go into your apartment?"  
>"You want me to let you and whatever weird little thing you have inside that box into my home?"<p>

"Yes." She looked pale. "And they aren't a _thing. _They are babies."

"You just said they were only kind of like babies." Nicole was starting to freak out, her voice getting high and squeaky.

"I did, and they are." She nodded.

"…Well whatever. I don't see the harm in that. So long as they doesn't eat my Oreo's that I stored in the fridge, sure thing." Nicole shrugged, motioning for Arinna to enter. Arinna gave her an odd look.

"You put your Oreos in the fridge?"

"Are you seriously questioning that when you just told me you were digging through someone else's trash can like 5 minutes ago?" Nicole folded her arms.

"Touché." Arinna nodded curtly, shuffling into the apartment. Sighing, Nicole followed, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, so what is the big secret Arinna? Did you find puppies or something?"  
>"Close in size… I guess." She shrugged, gently placing the box down on the coffee table. Sitting on the couch, she inched a little closer to the box, motioning for her friend to sit down.<p>

Hesitant, Nicole did as asked and sat on the other side of the coffee table. "Okay so… what?"

Arinna gave her a long look before reaching for the box. "Promise not to freak out?"  
>"I can't keep a promise I am unsure I can keep."<p>

"Then why did you promise not to tell a anyone about what I am about to show you." She yanked her hand back, as if the box burned her.

"Because I know I can keep that promise." Nicole glared at her. That seemed to surprise the younger adult, and her shoulders relaxed.  
>"Oh…" she smiled, reaching for the box again. "Okay, just try not to scream or anything like I did."<p>

"You screamed?" Now Nicole definitely felt worried.  
>"It was more of a surprised yelp I suppose." Arinna shrugged, tugging open the edges of the box to reveal the contents inside. Nicole didn't know what to say. What could she say? This was beyond anything she had ever seen.<p>

Seriously, was she suppose to scream, faint, or just stare at… _them_? What even were they?

"Uh... um… okay so… Yeah no, I don't know what I am looking at." Nicole leaned forward a bit, resting her chin against her hand.

"I figured you wouldn't. They are babies." Arinna let out a shaky sigh.

"Dude, those aren't babies. Babies aren't green." Nicole pointed to the box. Inside, placed in the middle of several blankets, were two small green infants. Though, being green apparently wasn't strange enough, because they also had shells. Like, turtle shells.

Were they turtles?

She wasn't even sure! They just sat their, blinking up at her and wiggling around.

"They are babies." Arinna insisted. "Baby turtles."

"Aren't baby Turtles like… this big?" Nicole showed the size with her palm, in fact, baby Turtles usually weren't suppose to be bigger than her palm.

"You would think, but no." Arinna ran her hand through her hair. "These babies though… they were in the dumpster. And one of them was crying and looking at me… He was so scared Nicole, and he was looking at me like I was the only one in the whole entire world that could help him! And I just… Nicole I don't know what to do." She stammered.

"And how did you think I could help?" Nicole was dumbstruck. What could she do for some weird turtle/human baby?

"I-I dunno I just… I didn't know what else to do." Arinna's voice cracked. "He was crying and he looked hurt so… I just… I dunno."

Nicole closed her mouth. Looking to the babies, she blinked a few times. "Arinna I just can't…" she paused, raising her gaze to her friend. "Hurt?"  
>"Well, I think so. It is his legs." Arinna nodded numbly.<p>

All weirdness aside, if these were babies, and one of them was hurt, they had to get it some help. "One of them is hurt?"

Arinna nodded. "The little one."

"Show me."

Arinna almost jumped out of seat, bring the box a little closer. "H-Here." She stuttered, pointing inside to the two babies. They both had yellow eyes and dark green skin, however one of them was much smaller than the others. Arinna had pointed to the smallest baby, to the child's knees and lower legs. Moving around the coffee table, Nicole took the box from her distressed friend and placed it on her lab. Looming over the opening, she peeked into the little turtle babes.

The little one was staring at her, his hands, which definitely were more like a human's than a turtles, were rolled up into tiny fists and resting next to his head. He blinked at her, titling his head curiously. (The Bigger one on the other had was just laying there, struggling to stay awake. Must've been tired.)

Anyway, the little one didn't seem to be in pain, but Nicole assumed that Arinna had moved the blankets enough so the baby's legs were completely surrounded and protected. Moving a few of the covers Nicole reached out to run her finger's over the leg muscles.

They weren't as large or as strong as his arms. Carefully grabbing the baby's ankles, she lifted his legs up. The baby didn't seem to feel pain from the action and only opened and closed his little mouth. Even if he didn't feel pain though, Nicole could tell something was wrong.

Her two years at medical school was enough experience to know. "He isn't injured." She announced.

"He isn't?" Arinna let out a sigh of relief.

"His leg muscles are just very weak right now. Muscle weakness. Kind of like… Muscular Dystrophy." She announced

"Muscular what?" her friends eyes doubled in size, pooling with concern. "Is it… bad?"

"I'm not saying it is Muscular Dystrophy, but it has similar traits to it." Nicole explained quickly. "It just means his muscles are weak, most likely from either lack of protein or a birth defect. Or maybe… it is from whatever caused him to be like this." She motioned to him.

Arinna nodded her head, looking to the large baby. "What about him? Is… Is he okay?"

Nicole shrugged, looking back into the box. The bigger one, now that she was looking, seemed much healthier than the other. He was large, darker skinned, and overall seemed like a healthy little guy. No problems that she could tell.

Then again, she wasn't exactly a vet, so how could she be 100 percent sure?

"I don't see any problems." Nicole admitted. "I'm not a vet though."

Arinna let out a sigh of relief. "That is good. So… you agree with me then that these two aren't like normal turtles or babies?"

"Of course." Nicole snorted at the obvious question. "I wanna say this is some form of mutation."

"Mutation?"  
>"Yeah, haven't you seen the mutants movies? They are like Godzilla, but much cuter."<br>"Nicole." Arinna narrowed her eyes.

"Sorry, little joke. But I'm serious, this has got to be some sort of weird mutation. Like a uh, a mix between turtle and human DNA!"

"How is that possible?" Arinna looked into the box. The little baby inside with the leg problems instantly looked to her, smiling. She smiled back.

"I dunno, you're the one who found them. As I said, who knows what you will find in the trash now a days."

"It is a good thing I found them when I did." Arinna admitted, reaching into the box. She seemed hesitant, but carefully grabbed the blankets around the little baby, wrapped her fingers around his shell and lifted him up. Careful with his legs, she wrapped him up in a bundle and cradled him in her arms. Nicole had seen Mother's hold their children like that all the time. "A few minutes after I pulled him out of the dumpster, the garbage truck arrived and dumped the whole thing. They would have crushed both of them and wouldn't have even known they were in there."

"Jeez." Nicole's throat felt dry. "They are really lucky babies then to have a Hobo like you around."

Arinna stuck her tongue out at her friend, chuckling. "Yeah, but now I don't know what to do with them."

"You could always give him to a Zoo." Nicole shrugged, looking back inside the box at the large baby. She hadn't even realized he was staring at her. "…" she stuck her tongue at him, and almost bit her tongue when he stuck his tongue right back out at her. "Dude, this baby is cheeky." She gasped.

Arinna rolled her eyes. "They aren't normal Turtles though." she disagreed, suddenly growing protective over the babe she was hold and wrapped her arms around him a little tighter. "They are curious and… And I think they have the intelligence of a normal human baby."

Nicole blinked. "What? Like… you think they'll grow like a normal human?"

Arinna didn't answer immediately, but slowly nodded. "Maybe."

"That's insane Arinna." Nicole looked back down at the baby in the box.

"What else am I suppose to say then Nicole." Arinna snapped, flinching when the baby in her arms began to fuss. "Oh, no. Sorry, so sorry." She quickly apologized, patting his back soothingly.

Nicole watched the scene quietly. Arinna was always a softie, unable to leave anyone or anything behind. With a heavy sigh, she nodded her head. "Okay, I see what you mean. And if we bring them to any where else they might just dissect them to see what in the world happened to make them they way they are."

Arinna looked utterly horrified. "Exactly why I came to you!"  
>"Don't yell." Nicole hushed her. "We'll figure something out. For now, you and the… little guys, can stay here tonight."<p>

"Are you sure about that?" she looked surprised.

"Not really." Nicole admitted. "But why not? I'm too tired to think up some amazing plan anyway. It is better we sleep on it."

"…Yeah. I guess you are right." Arinna agreed, smiling down at the little bundle in her arms. Nicole smiled back, freezing when the baby still in the box held his arms up towards her.

"… Arinna, it is doing something." She pointed down into the box.

"He wants you to pick him up." Arinna explained.

"Pick him up?" Nicole looked horrified. The baby suddenly began to squeak, opening and closing his palms at her. "Eck."

"Don't say _eck. _He likes you." Arinna narrowed her eyes at her friend. "Just pick him up like you would any baby."

"I've never held a baby before." Nicole disagreed, looking awkward and unsure.

"You have too. You held your little brother all the time when he was a baby." Arinna disagreed.  
>"My little brother didn't have a shell."<p>

"Big difference. Just pick him up before he starts to cry." Arinna ordered.

"No way-" just as Nicole began to protest, the baby in the box began to sniffle. "Ah. No. No no no, don't you dare." She pointed to the baby, flinching when tears began to pool in his eyes.

"Nicole…" Arinna growled. "Making a baby cry makes you the biggest jerk in the world."

"That is totally unfair." Nicole huffed. "I don't mean to make him cry- Oh come on, don't cry." Nicole frowned when the baby began to hiccup and sniffle. Rubbing at his eyes with his little fist, and he opened his mouth to let out a wail. "Ah! Okay! Okay!" quickly reaching into the box, Nicole wrapped her fingers around the baby's shell.

Lifting him up, she paused, allowing the baby to hover in the air. He had stopped crying instantly and stared up at her.

"…" Nicole slowly brought the baby closer, resting him against her arms, yet trying to hold him away as far as possible. "Hmmm." She looked distressed. "Arinna, I dunno what to do."  
>"Just hold him, that is all he wants." Arinna rolled her eyes.<p>

"How are you so sure about that?" Nicole scoffed.

"Women's intuition."

"I'm a Women and I feel no intuition that is telling me this." Nicole sighed, bringing the babe a little closer. His mouth was open a bit and he looked up at her with wide eyes.

"…La." He made a little noise, giving Nicole a toothless smile.

Nicole had never felt her heart melt that fast with just one little smile. "Oh my gosh, he is cute." Her eyes doubled in size.

Arinna giggled. "Aren't they? And they were squeaking and making little noises the whole time I was coming over her." She explained.

"Cute."

"…We should name them." Arinna insisted with a smile, suddenly completely loving the idea of keeping these two little babies.

"Name them?" Nicole gawked at her. "Arinna you know what happens when you name things. You grow attached!"

"What is wrong with growing attached to this two little cuties?" Arinna cooed, pressing her cheeks to the baby in her arms. The baby cooed right back at her.

"A lot of things Arinna. You can't keep them."

Arinna frowned at her friend. "Why not?"

Nicole opened her mouth, but found she couldn't answer. "I…" she sighed.

"There is nothing wrong with keeping these two." Arinna huffed, making her point clear. She had no intention of giving these two up. If they were in the trash that meant someone had thrown them away, and that wasn't okay! These two were sweet little babies who had done nothing wrong! "I'm keeping them. And you know what, I'm going to name this little guy right now." Rising to her feet, Arinna began to pace the room, looking down at the little baby for inspiration on what to name him. "Hmm. What to name you?"

"Turtle baby number one." Nicole offered with a sigh, knowing there was no way she would be able to convince her friend against this idea. How in the world were they suppose to take care of these two? Did you feed them baby food or turtle food? What if they got sick? There are so many things that could go wrong that neither of them could prepare for! And the piece to resistance for Arinna's plan… is that they would be raising these two. They would become parents in one night.

Nicole wasn't sure she could do that. She never thought of herself as an amazing role model, and she didn't have any idea on how to be a Mother…

"John?" Arinna asked, cutting into her thoughts.

"You aren't naming him John." Nicole shook her head in agreement.

"Phil?"

"No." Nicole sighed again. "…Call him Crippled Turtle."

"Nicole!" Arinna huffed. "I will never call him that, that is rude."

"I'm just saying, that is literally the only way I can tell these two little guys apart anyway." She shrugged, looking down at the turtle within her own arms.

"One is bigger and one is smaller, that is how you should tell them apart, not that one is crippled and one isn't." Arinna shook her head. Turning around, she started to pace again. "I'm giving this little guy a good name." she insisted.

"Fine, fine." Nicole leaned back into the couch, staring down at the turtle in her arms. He was staring up at her, pulling slightly on her shirt, as if he liked the feel on the cloth on his finger tips. She was wearing a super soft Pajama shirt. Y'know, the ones that are super fluffy.

"Oh! I know! Sebastiano!" Arinna declared.

"Seba-what?" Nicole looked over her shoulder at her friend. "What kind of name is that?"

"Y'know, like the Renaissance Artist. Sebastiano Del Piombo." She began to explain. "Vincent…" she frowned at the mention of her older brother. "Vincent always loved Sebastiano's work. My Mom even had a picture when I was younger of a portrait he drew. The Dorotea."

"What was that one again?" Nicole frowned.

"The picture of that girl. We always had it in the living room."

"Oh yeah." Nicole nodded, remembering her many visits to Arinna's old house. "That picture actually always freaked me out. It was like that women was staring into your soul."

'Nicole." Arinna chuckled.

"It is true!"

Arinna laughed, gently bouncing the newly name Sebastiano in her arms. "Do you like your name Sebastiano?" she inquired. The baby just stared at her.

"That is still a really weird name. Why not just call him… Sebastian or something? Or… Seba for short?"

"Nicole-"

"Or Tiano?"

"That sounds like a girls name." Arinna snorted.

"Bastiano?"

"No."

"Sebas."

"It is Sebastiano, Nicole. I'll even compromise, you can call him Sebastian for short."

Nicole let out a sigh. "Okay, fine… What should we name this one?" she looked down to the baby in her arms.

Arinna frowned, titling her head. "Well, maybe you should name him?"  
>"Bartholemew." She instantly answered.<p>

"…No." Arinna shook her head.

"That isn't fair. You got to name Sebas-that one." She pointed to Sebastiano.

"Yeah, but I also wanted to name him John and Phil, and you said no to those two, so no." Arinna stuck out her tongue.

"Gregory."

"See, you acted like the names I was saying were weird, but yours are just as weird." Arinna pointed to her.

"Gregory and Bartholemew are not weird." Nicole scoffed, sounding insulted.

"Neither are John and Phil."

"No, those names are weird. I knew a John and a Phil, and both of them were weirdos." Nicole whispered, as if she needed to keep this info on the down low.

"That doesn't mean every John and Phil are weirdos Nicole." Arinna sat down on the couch, placing Sebastiano in her lap. Sebastiano in response clapped his hands a few times. Shocked when doing so made a clapping noise, he jumped, looking around wildly. Hesitant, he did it again, looking very pleased with himself. Arinna chuckled at the sight.

"….I dunno then.' Nicole admitted.

"You could go for a renaissance kind of name like I did." Arinna offered.

"I don't know many Renaissance artists." Nicole sighed.

"Well there is… Leonardo, Giovanni, Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello… Uh… Nicola." Arinna began to list them off.

"I could name him Nicola, after me." Nicole cackled.

"He is a guy." Arinna sighed.

"Nicola was a guy too… I think…" Nicole looked confused. "What other names do you got?"

"Altichiero-"

"Too long and hard to remember."

"Lorenzo. Brunelleschi-"

"Ugh, no." Nicole shook her head.

"Giovanni, Filippino, Paolo, Hubert-" Nicole snickered at the name, motioning for Arinna to continue. "…Rogier, Jean, Hugo, Hieronymus-"

"Picasso." Nicole suddenly announced.

"What?" Arinna looked surprised.

"I suddenly just remembered that name. Picasso." She announced. "I remember looking at some artwork drawn by him back in middle school. I like his name."

Arinna seemed to be thinking the name over herself and nodded. "I like it too." She smiled. "So there is Sebastiano, and Picasso. The two little turtle babies."  
>"The strange little turtle babies." Nicole corrected, poking Picasso's tummy. The baby squealed in shock, grabbing her hand. Nicole snorted. "…Dude. Are we seriously doing this?"<p>

"Doing what?"  
>"Keeping these guys?"<p>

Arinna blinked a few times. "…Can we?"

"That isn't the question Arinna. I said, are we?"  
>"I dunno, are you saying we can?"<p>

Nicole let out a large sigh. "I guess."

"Then yes, we are." Arinna grinned. "I've grown attached."

"I told you that would happen if you named them." Nicole shook her head.

"I can't help it. They need me." Arinna smiled softly.

"…Yeah, I guess." Nicole shrugged, poking Picasso's forehead. "You know this is crazy though, right? And I'm not good at taking care of kids."

"Well, it is a good thing I am. And yeah… I'm aware it sounds a little crazy." The two friends laughed.

**Ending Author's notes:**

**PICASSO Belongs to BlackHooded001**

**SEBASTIANO/SEBASTIAN belongs to EpicThunder101**

**Nicole and Arinna belong to Me**

**ALRIGHT! Here we are people! The start of a strange story with random nonsense and hopefully some sense XD There is also one other OC character currently in this story that just hasn't been introduced. His name is GIOTTO. **

**So if you have an OC character you want to add named GIOTTO, I may not be able to accept him just because we already have one. I'll take any other characters though :D**

REMINDER, THIS IS AN OC STORY SO… A LOT OF OC'S.

I'll try to introduce OC's from this point on one at a time though, so we don't get confused.


	2. Questions and rules

HEY GUYS!

Okay, so to start off, this isn't a chapter. This is just a quick Author's note explaining what exactly is happening in this story. Basically some rules if you want to send me an OC to add to the story.

Rule 1: For right now, I ask that you only send me one OC. Just for right now, because adding too many OC's all at once can get kind of crazy XD And I can only remember so many people all at once.

Rule 2: They can be Mutant, humans, or aliens. I'll accept them all. Also they can be any age.

Rule 3: This is actually a sad rule, but it has to be done for my main idea for this story. The boys (leo, Don, Mikey and Raph) Will technically not be in this story for a long time. A LONG TIME. So if you have an Oc that has something to do with them (Example: Raphael's wife or kid or whatever) (I use this because someone brought this up XD) I may not be able to use them. At least not for a super long time.

Rule 4: As I said in rule 3 the boys wont be involved for a while, as will Splinter. However, if you want to add an already existing character, just let me know. What I mean by this, is something like this... EXAMPLE (say I'm a reviewer): Can you add a baby April into the story? Like maybe Arinna runs into Kirby and his wife before she goes missing and they have little baby April with them? (something like that XD)

Rule 5: Now, you can give me all the back story you want on your character, but you have to remember, I may not be able to get to all of the backstory you give me. Like you might give me a character that, i dunno, is a princess or something from a foreign land that had super human strength and is being chased by evil government people. I will try to add in as much as that as possible, but I may not be able to do all of it, just a warning.

EXTRA INFO:

This takes place in the 2012 universe

This will be a large family

Nicole and Arinna may or not leave the city and move to the country side in a few chapters to raise the little turtle babies in peace and without worry XD

**IF YOU HAVE A CHARACTER, EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SENT ME A MESSAGE ON THEM, PLEASE FILL THIS OUT. Either through review or send me a message. I prefer messages, but if you are a guest and can't, that is okay :)**

**Characters name:**

**Characters age:**

**Characters Gender:**

**Character's appearance;**

**Character's Personality/traits:**

**How they would interact with mutants/humans/Arinna and Nicole:**

**Some Backstory: **

**Anything else you want to tell me about them: **

**How, if you have an idea, do you want me to bring them into the story? Or I can just make something up, either way works: **

**...Has your character ever thought of being an assassin?: **

**Who would they get along better with; Arinna or Nicole?:**


	3. Braces, Carts, Ninjas and Cameras

**WHOOP! Sorry for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes!**

How had things gotten so bad so fast? Nicole didn't even know how to answer that.

If she had to write everything down, she would start with waking up that morning.

It was early, the sun barely peeking out from behind the buildings and through Nicole's window.

It was like every normal day, and for a few moments, she actually began to believe that her Best friend bringing home two mutant turtles was just a dream… till something hit her on the face.

Scrunching up her nose, she grunted as something hit her nose again. Opening her eyes, she grumbled. She was on her couch, laying flat on her best with something resting against her chest. "Ow." She huffed when something hit her nose again.

Squinting down towards her stomach, all she could see were large yellow eyes staring at her.

"…" she blinked, and they blinked back. She wanted to scream, or sit up and send the creature off of her, but the nights events flooded back to her in the last minute. It was Picasso.

Since she had no where to put him she just let him sleep on her stomach all night. That little guy was out like a light as soon as she settled him down.

"Oh." She rubbed her eyes. "It is just you."

He cooed at her, rising to his feet to crawl up her chest and curl up next to her neck and shoulder like a cat would. Glancing at him, she sighed. "Morning to you too.' She patted his head. "I'm assuming you sleep well." With a yawn, she glanced around the room. If she remember correctly, she had offered Arinna her bed last night, meaning that Sebastian was also in there with her.

She hummed in thought.

So… she slept on it like she told Arinna she would. Keep the Turtles?

Well, she was sure Arinna would do that regardless if she agreed or not, so she supposed she had no choice but to go along.

"Hey Picasso-" she glanced at the little baby. He was currently staring at her hair in awe. Since he was next to her neck, it kept getting in his face, so he would open his mouth and try to bite down on it. "No. No." Nicole quickly sat up. "My hair isn't food." She grumbled. The baby looked up at her in confusion, a deep frown sketched across his face. "You hungry or something?"

He didn't reply and wiggled his toes.

"Yes?"

"…Gah…"

"Yes." Nicole nodded, rising to her feet. Placing Picasso awkwardly in one of her arms, unsure if she was holding him correctly, she moved into her kitchen. "Hey Arinna!' she called. "Breakfast!"

A snort echoed from her room followed by a confused grown. "Huh? Wha- AH!" then there was a small silence. "Oh yeah! Hello Sebastian!" Arinna coed seconds before exiting Nicole's bedroom with Sebastian in her grip. "Good Morning Nicole." She beamed.  
>"Yeah, morning." Nicole gave her a smile in return. "So um… how exactly do you hold this guy again?" Nicole held Picasso out. Arinna almost screamed.<p>

"Definitely not like that!" she wailed.

Nicole blinked. Not like this? But she was holding him by his waste and all that- oh… she was holding him upside down. "Whoops." She flinched, placing him on the table. Picasso on the other hand only blinked at her, as if he didn't care if he was thrown, held upside down, or punted like a foot ball.

Nicole would never punt him like a football.  
>"Honestly." Arinna sighed, placing a hand on Picasso's head to make sure he was okay. "You really have no experience with babies do you?"<p>

"None that I can really remember." Nicole sighed. "Sorry Picasso." She apologized. The baby smiled at her, giggling.

The two older women chuckled. "So…" Arinna glanced back at Nicole. "Have you decided?"

"About keeping the kids?"

"Yeah."

Nicole turned back to the fridge to grab some milk. "…Well, I guess we can." She shrugged. "But if we are going to do this, we need to do some research. I don't know how to care of babies… or Turtle babies."  
>Arinna nodded in agreement, looking down at little Sebastian. "Yeah, I'm a little unsure of that too." She agreed.<p>

"Right. So we need some sort of plan and supplies."

"Like Baby supplies?"

"Well, I'm sure we could get baby supplies at any store." Arinna offered. "But… I'm kind of broke."  
>'Which means I am paying. You need to get a job." Nicole sniffed.<br>"Yeah… working on it." Her friend shrugged sheepishly.

"Okay so a quick game plan!" Nicole declared. "You stay here and watch Pica and Seba while I got to the store to get some supplies… and I'll stop buy the library to get some information." She nodded to herself.

"…Pica and Seba?" Arinna frowned. "Really?"

"What?" Nicole held out her arms. "Those are cute nicknames!"

Arinna sighed, nodding her head. "Well yeah. But I think since they are boys they would want cooler nicknames... like Casso or and Bastion... or something like that."

"Whatever." Nicole looked at Sebastian, who was frowning. "Hey, what is wrong with him?"

Realizing Nicole meant Sebastian, Arinna looked down to the little baby. Frowning, she titled her head. "I dunno. Maybe he is grumpy?" Sebastian shifted in her arms, whimpering. "O-Or hungry?" Suddenly, Sebastian began to sniffle, tears pooling in his eyes.  
>"Oh jeez! He's crying." Nicole panicked.<p>

"I can see that." Arinna began to pet his back, holding him close. "There there. Don't cry. Don't cry." Sebastian let out a wail… as if he was in pain.

The two almost jumped out of their skin. "Shut him up!" Nicole hissed, knowing her neighbors might be able to hear.

"I'm trying! Shhh. Shhh. There there darling, it is alright. No need to cry." Sebastain began to twist and turn in her grip, and to prevent from dropping him she placed him on the table with Picasso, who stared at them with wide eyes. Scanning over the child, Arinna fumbled for an answer. "I-I don't know what is-" she trailed off, looking to his legs.

Was it perhaps... his legs?

Nicole seemed to get the same idea as Arinna and gently placed her hand on his legs. Massaging them gently, she ran her fingers over the muscles, feeling for any sign on injury. "I bet it is his legs." Nicole muttered. "Arinna, go into my bathroom and get the first aid kit that is under the sink."

Looking horrified, Arinna quickly scurried into the bathroom to retrieve the first aid kit. When she did, she opened it up and held it to Nicole. Reaching in blindly, keeping her focus on Sebastian, Nicole lifted out some bandages. "Get me those spoons." She pointed to the two wooden spoons that were hanging above her stove.

Confused, Arinna grabbed them and handed them to her. Taking them into her palms, Nicole placed them together and broke then in half.

"Nicole? What are you doing?" Arinna inquired as Nicole broke off the rounded part of the spoon and began to tape over the splintered ends of the sticks.

"I think the problem is that his bones aren't staying straight." She began to explain as she placed 2 parts of the sticks to each of his legs. Using them as splints, she wrapped the bandages around Sebastian's legs, using them as a sort of wooden **Braces.**(Note, this is the Title of the Story that features Sebastian if you want to go check it out)

Arinna stared curiously from over Nicole's shoulder. "Will those help?"  
>"They should." Nicole chuckled. "Though they aren't the best they'll have to do till I can make him something batter." Tying a secure knot, she examined her work and nodded. "There, he is done!" she lifted him up and held him out to Arinna.<p>

Bending down a bit to look at Sebastian, Arinna beamed to find Sebastian wiggling his fingers, staring at his new looking leg gear. Reaching down he patted his legs, squeaking as if he was trying to figure out what exactly they had done to him.

He didn't even remember he was in pain a few minutes beforehand.  
>"Oh Nicole, thank you!" Arinna grinned, taking Sebastian back into her arms.<p>

"No problem Arinna-"

**BAAM! BAAM!**

Hearing a loud banking from her door, Nicole jumped. Realizing someone was at the door, froze. She recognized that knocking instantly. It was… _her. _

She had exactly 10.3 seconds to open the door before an unwanted house guest would come barging in.

"Quick hide in the closet!" Nicole whispered in a hush tone, pushing Picasso into Arinna's arm and shoving them into the nearest closet. "Don't make a sound!"

"Nicole wha-?!" Arinna couldn't even get out her sentence before the door was slammed in her face. Nodding to herself, Nicole scrambled for her front door, grabbing the door handle just as another booming knock sounded.

"Yes?" Nicole put on her best smile as she opened the door. On the other side, a dark shadow edged at the doorway, glaring inside.

"Nicole." They hissed.  
>"…Oh. Hello Agatha." Nicole gulped. This was Agatha Handel… the owner and manager of Nicole's apartment building. She was 39 year old women that wore heavy boots every single day, dark brown hair, and green eyes that could pierce into your very soul if you weren't careful.<p>

Agatha could sense something was wrong with her building from miles away. Usually Nicole thought that was very comforting, knowing she would be safe at night. However, now she was hiding two baby turtles and a Hobo in her house.

…She was scared.

Nicole once heard a rumor that her neighbor had made too much noise one night from having his buddy over, and Agatha completely crashed through the door, yelling at them to quiet down before she cut out their tongues.

Granted, the rumors in this place got a little crazy and over exaggerated, but it was true that Agatha had some how gotten into that apartment that night. Poor John always looks pale now whenever Agatha comes by.

"Hello Nicole." Agatha smiled. "I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but I received a phone call from one of your neighbors down the hall complaining about how there was a large ruckus coming from your apartment." Agatha glanced over Nicole's shoulder to peek inside, a suspicious glint appearing in her green eyes for a moment.

Nicole straightened. "Noise? Well, that is odd. I was asleep all night last night." She glanced down the hall. _Curse you Ms. Flay and your super human ears_!

"Oh, how strange. So everything is alright then?" Agatha inquired.

"Yup. Yup." Nicole nodded some more. "Just same old me in here. I might have left the Tv on last night if that helps at all. I'm a really heavy sleeper."

"Oh, well that must have been it." The older women nodded. "Have a nice morning Nicole." She turned to leave. "There are cookies down stairs if you would like some."

"Thank you Agatha. I might just take you up on that offer later." Nicole waved, stepping back into her apartment and closing the door. Keeping her hand on the door handle, Nicole kept still, listening for any sign that Agatha was still standing outside her door.

_She was a fool to think things would go so smoothly. Agatha was like some sort of frigging CIA agent! That women knew when anything was even slightly off with this building! if she was going to survive, she would need to be as sneaky as a Ninja. Or an assassins... assassins sound cooler. _

Suddenly, she could hear the sound of fading foot prints and sighed with relief. Quickly locking the door, she flew open the puffed out her cheeks with a huff.  
>"What in the world was that?" she demanded.<p>

"Sorry, that was the owner." Nicole shrunk. "She's got ears like a hawk, I didn't want to take any chances. Plus, if she came in here, I wanted to make sure you three were already hiding."  
>"Why would we have to hide from her?" Arinna's eyes widened.<br>"Well, I don't know how she would react to mutant turtle babies. Plus, though it has never been proven, I think she is some sort of ex FBI agent or something. Or CIA, I don't really know the differences between the two.

"FBI?" Arinna almost scoffed. "Seriously?"  
>"I'm not kidding! That women can be a monster sometimes."<p>

With a roll of her eyes, Arinna placed Picasso and Sebastian on the floor to play. "Well, your FBI owner aside, I think we should get the boys food."

Nicole glanced at the clock, nodding. "Yeah, that would probably be best. If I leave now I should be back in 30 or 40 minutes. Think you can handle them on your own for that long?"

"Yeah. I mean… how hard can it be?"

"Very hard."  
>"No, it would be very hard for you. I know how to handle children." Arinna correctly.<p>

"Rude, but true." She grabbed her bag. "Okay, then I am heading off. You know my cell, so use my house phone to get in contact with me if something happens."  
>"I will."<p>

-00030 minutes later000-

The trip to the library had been oddly enough quick and easy. Nicole had literally run through the whole place grabbing every baby and turtle book she could get her hands on. The total of books had run up to around 25. She practically had to bribe the librarian to let her check out that many books.

She now had to make over 2 cakes and 5 dozen cupcakes by next Saturday for some sort of get together. Great… Nicole was terrible at cooking, and yet she owned a Bakery. It was an odd little thing to do, but it was always a dream of hers.

Again though, she can't cook to save her life. So she hired some help to help get the cooking done. She had actually hired this women who only needed an extra little cash.

Her name was Vanessa Thompson. She was this Fashion designer or whatever as well, but because she had recently had a little girl named Alexis she needed some extra money or something. Nicole didn't mind, as long as she got the job done.

It was actually Vanessa right now who was watching over the store while she was out doing all this shopping.

She'd be lost without that beautiful angel! Though she could definitely do less with Vanessa bringing her crazy baby with her to work. Alexis was cute… but man that kid stared at her like she wanted to eat her! It freaked Nicole out!

…Or maybe it was just because Nicole was terrible with babies? She wasn't sure.

Anyway, since Nicole no longer had to worry about her shop, at least for now, she could focus on getting supplies.

She dreaded her trip to the store however. She was terrible at buying groceries, even just for herself. She never knew what she would need and would get distracted by things she didn't.

She had to stay focused though, she needed baby supplies and food. She hated every minutes of it.

Nicole sighed heavily as she marched through the store, pushing a cart in front of her. She had told Arinna she was going shopping for the turtles but… seriously, what in the world was she doing?

Why was she going to such lengths for two weirdo turtles? Sure, she didn't mind helping them, but she had no reason to. Arinna even asking her might not have been enough.

She didn't know how to explain it.

When she had left this morning to get supplies she had felt so excited to go get stuff for Sebastian and Picasso, but now that she was here… she wasn't sure what to even get!  
>"Why is everything so flipping expensive?!" Nicole demanded quietly as she sped through the aisle, scanning over the baby supplies. She wasn't going to buy them cloths because she knew they would probably never fit, but maybe she could at least get some cloth to sew them some socks or something?<p>

They definitely needed diapers though. Grabbing to large bags she tossed them into the cart. They would also need bottles, blankets, maybe a binky or two, and some toys. Like hell- or um, Shell, (hehe) she going to let those two tots mess with anything in her apartment.

Grabbing some milk and eggs, she placed them in the cart and continued threw the store. She paused as she passed by a children's fairy tale. Plucking it off the shelf she opened in and skimmed over the words. Would the boys like it?  
>It was about a the turtle who raced the rabbit, so they probably would. It like, was about a turtle so, probably.<p>

She had never actually read the book… did the Turtle win? Yeah, they would be happy if the turtle ended up winning… right?

Yeah.

Tossing it into the cart she shrugged and pushed on. Above, the song 'Cotton Eye Joe' began to play. Confused at the odd set list this store had, Nicole turned the corner, grunting when her cart ran straight into another.

"Oh!" she gasped. "Sorry about that. I didn't even see you there-" she trailed off as a pink sweater and Afro came into view. Her eyes widened in horror. "_You!"_

The person she ran into looked up in surprise, pushing up his bulky circular glasses. "Wha- NICOL!" None other than Baxter Stockman, her old HighSchool enemy, squeaked. Growling, Nicole pulled her cart back, slamming it back into his to ram the handle into his gut. He gagged, stumbling back a bit. "Good heavens! Do you have any idea who I am!?" he huffed.

"Nerd Stickman."

"It is _Baxter Stockman!" _he growled. "You know this! You've known it for years!"

"Whatever Stickman, get out of my way. I got some serious business to attend to." Nicole hit his cart with her own again.

Scrambling to hold his cart steady, he scowled. "What sort of stupid business is so important-" he glanced inside her cart. "Baby supplies?" he looked horrified. "Holy Mackerel, please tell me you aren't bearing children." He glanced towards her stomach.

"UGH!" Nicole leapt back, covering her stomach. "No way, idiot!"

"Then why-?"

"That isn't any of your business!" she yelled, she kicked his cart over.

"Hey!"

Hissing like a cat, Nicole grabbed her cart and rushed out of the isle, quick to escape anyone else from witnessing the sight. Sprinting to the other side of store, Nicole huffed a few times, turning into the cereal isle. Stockman would never follow her down here. Too much sugar gave him hives.

To think that she would see him here though. She must have been having the worse luck ever. Good thing Arinna hadn't come with her. If she was, who knows what would have happened. Even if Arinna hadn't realized it in High School, Stockman was head over heels for her.

Seriously, Arinna had to be completely blind of love to not see those little hearts in Stockman's eyes every time she walked towards him. It was kind of gross.

"Well-" Grabbing a box of cereal since she was there, she moved to the check out. She basically had most of everything she needed, and the rest was at home. So it was probably best just to head back. She didn't want to leave Arinna alone for too long.

So, to be safe, she scurried through the self check out, ran out the door, and headed straight home. As she moved, she pulled out her phone, calling her house phone.

Seconds later Arinna picked up, sounding hesitant. "…_Hello?"_

"Get out the Swag-muffins and Yolo-Rolls Arinna, I'm coming back with some food, research and presents for the kids!" Nicole cackled into her phone.

Arinna laughed on the other end. "_That's great Arinna. The boys are really starting to get fussy here. They are starving."_

_"_Just feed them some worms or something. Or some berries! I got some berries in the fridge. I know turtles can eat berries."  
><em>"Berries? Well, alright. I'll see you soon." <em>

"Kay, bye." Nicole said as she crossed the street towards her motorcycle. Hopping in, she revved up the engine and sped down the road.

-000-

Stepping into the apartment building lobby, Nicole dropped to her knees just before she reached the front desk. Sensing Agatha on the other side, Nicole carefully crawled in front of the desk, keeping as low to the ground as possible.

How in the world was she going to explain to Agatha that she suddenly needed baby supplies? Yeah, no, she was going to avoid that, and hopefully get past her unseen.

_Careful… careful…_

Hiding behind a plant, Nicole pulled out a stick she had grabbed on the way in here. Waiting till Agatha looked away, she extended out the stick, using it to press the elevator door button.

Glad that the elevator buzzer was currently not working, meaning there would be no little bell to signify its arrival, Nicole rolled into the room, pushed up against the side, and jabbed her thumb a billion times on the 'Close' button.

She had barely closed the door before Agatha turned her head towards her direction.

_Victory! _

Feeling like a friggin' ninja, Nicole wiggled her hips in an odd victory dance, pumping her fist. Slamming her finger into the button that said '3' she cackled, her laughter slowly dying away into a sigh. _All this trouble for some turtles, she must have been just as crazy as Arinna. _

Kicking her door a few times, Nicole grinned when Arinna cautiously opened it, peeking out. "Hey." She grinned.  
>"Nicole." Arinna threw open the door with a smile. "Welcome back. Did you get everything?"<p>

"Sure thing." She held up the bags with a smug look of triumph. "But seriously, you gotta get a job so next time, you're paying. This stuff is ridiculously expensive!"

"Really?" Arinna took a few of the bags. "At least the books are free."

"Yeah, but we gotta return them. Always a downer." Nicole sighed.

"That is how the library work."

"Things should just be for free."  
>"That isn't how the world works." Her friend giggled.<br>"Ugh!" Nicole huffed. Opening the door a little wider with her foot, Nicole stepped in and placed them on the side of the hall, near her shoes. Turning to close the door, she jumped when Arinna let out a cry.  
>"Nicole! Watch out! Picasso is making a run for it!"<br>"Huh- AH!" Nicole yelped when Picasso crawled between her legs and out her door like a speeding bullet. For a baby, he was speedy!

"No! Picasso! Come back!" Nicole scrambled after the turtle tot as he dashed out of the apartment. Diving out of the room, Nicole grabbed the little guy, rolling into the wall, holding him close to her chest. "No." she whispered angrily.

He blinked up at her curiously, unsure of what just happened. He began to wiggle though, looking upset. "Ah, yeah no. I'm not letting you run off." Nicole narrowed her eyes. "I just spent hundreds of dollars getting you baby stuff! You are terrible at being grateful-"

_SNAP_

Nicole's whole body shifted, going rigid at the sound of a clicking noise. What was that?!

As she turned her head to investigate, the color in her face began to drain downward. On the other side, a women stood with a camera held firmly in her grip.

It was her neighbor, Michelle. She was a videographer/photographer who worked for a newspaper company down the street.

…And she had just taken a picture that would ruin everything.

"M… Michelle." Nicole stammered quietly, stumbling to her feet.

The 20 year old women blinked a few times, a look of shock frozen on her gentle features. Crystal blue eyes stared at Nicole, unsure of what to say or do.

In fact, neither of them knew what to do. They both just kind of stood there, staring at each other, waiting to see what the other one would do.

Arinna was the one to break the silence when she peeked her head out of the door. "Hey Nicole did you catch Picas- Oh-no…" she trailed off as she followed Nicole's gaze, her eyes locking in on Michelle. "…Oh gosh…" Arinna grew pale.

"N-Nicole…" Michelle motioned to Picasso with a shaky finger. "What is t-that?" she whispered, her voice thick with her England accent.

Nicole gulped, and she looked to Arinna. Handing Picasso to her, she turned back around to Michelle. "Michelle… give me the camera."

Michelle took a step back, her black hair falling in front of her face.

"Michelle… seriously…" Nicole opened and closed her palm. She stepped forward, cursing when Michelle whipped around and fled down the hall.

"Nicole!" Arinna screamed when Nicole booked it after her. "What are you doing?!"  
>"I need to get that camera back!" Nicole called over her shoulder. "Don't worry! I got this! Michelle! You get back here!"<p>

Michelle let out a screech as she slammed into the emergency fire escape stairs and shot down them. Right on her tail, Nicole hurtled over the steps. "Michelle I swear when I get my hands on you you're gonna wish you never moved here from England!"

"AH-" Michelle barely got out another cry before Nicole tackled and wrestled her to the floor.

"GIVE ME THE CAMERA!" She just knew making that promise to Arinna last night was going to bring nothing but trouble.

**Wahoo! New chapter. Man, it is kind of hard adding people's OC into this story from time to time…. BUT I'm LOVING THE RESULTS! XD Thank you all for sending me in your characters, you are all beautiful people! **

**Oh and a quick note, Michelle belongs to Dark Nightwatcher while Agatha belongs to Aerissee. Hasste, and Alexis/Vanessa belong to Runpup14. **

**WAHOO!**

**….Yeah, Nicole had a long day. Hopefully Michelle doesn't blow the whole secret XD That would be bad. **


	4. Nicole's gonna buy you a Michelle

**Hey people! I'm back! Okay, sorry it took so long to get this out. I'm trying to make each chapter longer :D **

Nicole was starting to loose track of everything that has been happening in her life. She wasn't sure who she should feel crossed with, who to be happy with, or what exactly to say to the next person she sees.

So she sat in her room with a journal in her lap and a pencil in her hands. Next to her the small Turtle known as Picasso was pressed to her side, his small fingers wrapped around her shirt as he quietly snored. Sebastian would be in here as well, however whenever he seemed to be pulled away from Arinna, he would cry.

To avoid causing any ruckus, Arinna and him slept on the couch wrapped snuggly in a blanket.

Absentmindedly patting Picasso's head, Nicole began to scribble down some thoughts. Perhaps if she wrote everything down, things would start to make sense? She wrote about when Arinna knocked on her door all the way to when she tackled her neighbor Michelle down the stairs. Her side still stung from when she crashed it into the cement floor.

Speaking of Michelle, she had been returned safely to her room after several long hours of discussing what exactly was happening. Nicole could still remember it word for word.

0000-_5 hours earlier 7:30 P.M_-0000

"MMGMGMMHMGMG!"

Placing a hand to her ear, Nicole leaned down towards the girl she had tied up and thrown in the corner of her room. "I'm sorry Michelle, what was that? I can't exactly hear you."

"MFFHGH!" Michelle shrieked through the duct tape tied around her mouth.

"Nicole." Arinna who has been sitting on the bed quietly with the two Babies sighed. "Really?"

"I'm not gonna take off that duct tape until I'm positive you wont tell." Nicole huffed stubbornly. Michelle gave her a dirty look, pulling wildly at the ropes covering her arms and legs.

"Nicole." Her friend tried again. "Are you sure this is the right way to go about this?"  
>"Trust me Arinna, this must be done. You don't want her running to the police and telling them, do you?"<p>

"Well… No." Arinna hugged Picasso and Sebastian a little closer to her chest, not wishing to part with them… or get arrested for assaulting and kidnapping a pedestrian.

"Right, so we have to do this." Nicole concluded. "Are you ready to talk calmly Michelle?"

"Hh-mmm! Hmm!" the girl screamed.

"Right, didn't think so." Nicole narrowed her eyes. "We'll just have to _take you out." _She growled.

"MMMMMMHMMHMHMH!" Michelle began to scream through the duct tape, not wanting to be killed.  
>"Nicole!" Arinna wailed! "We aren't killing her!"<br>"I didn't say anything about killing her, I said we would take her out!" Nicole huffed.

"That means killing!" Arinna stepped between Michelle and her.

Nicole folded her arms, "As in we should take her out of the apartment complex or something just incase someone hears her."

Both Arinna and Michelle blinked a few times, looking at each other. "…Oh." They nodded, though Michelle sounded muffled.

Rolling her eyes at the two, Nicole moved to the table where she had placed Michelle's Camera. "You know Michelle, I should smash this thing." She grumbled, picture up the device. "You shouldn't be taking pictures of people without permission, it is rude."

Michelle's eyes widened as Nicole twirled the device in her hands, examining each angle of it. Shaking her head, Michelle called out a muffled cry, pleading with Nicole not to break her Camera. Glancing at her, Nicole smiled.  
>"Relax, I wont break it. I'm just looking." Turning it on, she began to browse through the pictures. "I'll just have to erase the ones you took of Picasso and me."<p>

"Yeah." Arinna nodded.

Plopping down on her bed, Nicole glanced form Michelle to her pictures of the city, people, landscape- good gosh these were good. "Man girl, these look amazing. Even the one with Picasso and me. I might actually just keep these."

"Really?" Arinna looked over her shoulder, just as awed. "Wow, those are good."

"Yeah. I mean look at this one of the city. That is breath taking." Nicole pointed to the screen. Across the room, Michelle blushed a bit at the compliments, lowering her head. Wait, no, she was mad at them, she couldn't let flattery get the best of her!

"Mmh!"

"Yeah yeah, calm down." Nicole didn't even look at her as she waved off Michelle's yell. "I'm just looking. Oh look at this."

"Nice." Arinna smiled.

"And then this one. Oh and this one-" Nicole paused as she moved to the next picture, and odd sight coming onto the screen. "Uh…. What in the world is that?"

"Is that… an alien space ship?" Arinna's eyes doubled in size.

"What in the world?! Michelle?!" Nicole jumped to her feet and held up the camera. "Why do you have pictures of Alien Spaceships?" the pictures was odd to say the least with just the weird Taco sign in it, but then you add the circular and slightly pink alien ship floating over it, then you've got some issues.

Michelle jumped, blinking a few times. She began to speak, but her words were incoherent. "Mmnn hmm sndnsn nhhhn nmn."

"…" Nicole looked back at the Camera. "You've seen these Space Ships for a while all over the city? That is crazy."  
>"…You understood what she just said?" Arinna looked confused.<p>

"You didn't?"  
>"Of course not, she has duct tape on her mouth." Arinna grumbled, sitting down with Picasso and Sebastian on her lap. The two little babies cooed as they messed around with the buttons on Arinna's shirt.<p>

"So are they really aliens?" Nicole asked to Michelle, who shrugged. "Why didn't you go to anyone about this?"

Michelle blinked a few times then looked at Sebastian and Picasso, as if they were her answers. "Mgm shdhs."  
>"What the heck does daft mean?" Nicole frowned.<p>

"What?" Arinna was confused.

"Oh Michelle said, _"Don't be daft, I have no intentions of going to the Police with this." _

_"_Oh, daft means crazy, odd… mad." Arinna explained.

"Oh…Yeah, I guess I haven't gone to anyone about those two baby Turtles either, so I have no right to judge why you didn't about aliens. Then again though, I doubt anyone would believe you about them- WAIT A MINUTE!" Nicole jabbed an accusing finger at Michelle. "I'm not mad or crazy! And how are you so calm about all of this?! You took a picture of friggin' aliens girl!"

Michelle blinked a few times, shrugging again.

"Nicole, stop yelling. You can't be mad at her about being calm with all of this." Arinna sighed.  
>"I can too."<br>"You were pretty calm when I brought Sebastian and Picasso with me into your house."

"… Not true. I was freaking out on the inside."  
>"Maybe that is what Michelle is doing too." Her friend smirked.<p>

"…Curse you Arinna and your logic." Placing the camera down, Nicole shuffled across the room to Michelle. Kneeling down next to her, she hesitantly reached for the duct tape. "…" Frowning, as if she was unsure, Nicole reluctantly ripped the duct tape off of Michelle's lips.  
>"Ow!" she yelped.<p>

"Oh, sorry."

Frowning, Michelle looked up to her captures. "So…" she cleared her throat. "What are you going to do with me exactly?" she said cautiously.

"Nothing." Arinna said quickly. "We just want you to hear us out and let us explain."

"I believe I have the basic idea of what is going on here. You found two Baby Turtles, which is strange, and are now raising them. At least, that is what I have come to believe." Michelle announced, her voice thick with a British accent.

"….Ugh." Nicole turned away, wiggling her fingers.  
>"…" Arinna frowned at her friend. "What?"<p>

"I love British accents." Nicole explained simply. "Michelle, keep talking." She waved to her neighbor. Surprised, Michelle titled her head.

"Uh… Oh. Very well. What exactly would you like me to say?"

"Anything, just let me hear your accent."  
>'Nicole." She frowned.<br>"C'mon. Please?"

"I struggle to see how this is relevant to the topic we are on-"

"Hehehe." Nicole clapped. "Gosh I love it. I wish I had a British accent."

Michelle sighed. "Okay. Back to the point at hand. What am I going to have to do to be released?"

"It is simple, swear never to tell about what you have seen here tonight."

Arinna nodded. "We don't want you to say anything to anybody about these two." She motioned to Sebastian and Picasso, who she had placed on the ground to let them crawl around a bit.

Watching them stumble in front of her, Michelle nodded slowly. "…Is that it?"

"Pretty much." The other two nodded.

"Very well then. I promise not reveal anything." She bowed her head. Looking satisfied, happy things seemed to be going well, Arinna reached to untie the ropes surrounded Michelle.  
>"Wait-" Nicole stopped her by grabbing her wrist. "How do we know you'll keep your word?"<p>

"…" Michelle frowned, unsure of how to answer.

"Ah-ha. We can't trust ya." Nicole huffed, her point made. Lowering her gaze, Michelle sighed.

"I suppose you have a point." She agreed. "You have no reason to trust me other than my word. That is what I am giving you however; my word. I will not reveal anything about these Turtles or the fact that they are here."

The two friends looked at each other, narrowing their eyes. Turning away in a quiet team huddle, they began to whisper. "Can we trust her?" Arinna's eyes were wide.

"I'm not sure." Nicole shrugged. "I don't really know her too well. She only recently moved in."

Arinna nodded. "I think she is being honest."  
>"Maybe."<br>"…So what do we do?"

"Untie her, for now." Nicole said. Turning back around, Michelle straightened when they stood over her. Kneeling down, Nicole grabbed the end of the rope and untied it. With a few good tugs, the whole thing fell loose and Michelle was free. "Okay Michelle, we're giving you a chance here. Don't mess it up."

"Highly noted." Michelle rubbed her wrists. "I apologize for all the trouble." She said bashfully. "I never intended to cause any harm. Being a photographer, sometimes I feel as though my hands have minds of their own on what sort of pictures I take."

"Well, there is no harm done." Arinna nodded. "Well, kind of. I apologize for Nicole tackling you down the stairs."

"I'm not. It was fair." Her friend replied curtly.

"Though unpleasant." Michelle mumbled. "It is okay though, I understand why you did what you did." Michelle almost jumped out of her skin when one of the baby turtles, Picasso, suddenly appeared next to her.

With a weary expression, Michelle watched as Picasso approached a little closer. Keeping perfectly still, she was quiet as Picasso circled her once before placing a little hand on her knee and slowly crawling up into her lap. Plopping down, as if he owned the new location placement, he wiggled his toes.

"I think he likes you." Nicole chuckled.  
>"Oh well…" Michelle smiled shyly. "I wouldn't say I am very good with children."<p>

"Agreed. It is okay." Reaching out her hand, Nicole gave Michelle a nervous smile of her own. "…So, are we cool? No hard feelings?"

"None what so ever." Michelle took a hold on her hand, giving it a firm shake.

**BAAM! BAAM!**

The three girls jumped at the sound of sharp and precise knocking at the front door.

"Agatha." Michelle and Nicole said in unison, knowing the sound of that knocking anywhere.

"Why do both of you sound so worried whenever Agatha's name comes up?" Arinna sighed.

"Because she could skin us alive if she wanted. Shh." Nicole whispered harshly. "Quick, get in the closet in case she decides to snoop around."

"Oh." Arinna scoffed. "Nonsense. Ms. Agatha can not be that bad."  
>"….Well, she isn't She is actually super sweet and always gives us cookies." Nicole shrugged.<p>

"Why would she want to snoop around?" Arinna inquired over her shoulder as her friend herded the babies and her into the closet.

"Cause she is a creepy Ex Spy or whatever that can slice your head clean off your body if she thinks something is wrong or that you are hiding something from her." Nicole answered simply.

"You're over exaggerating."

"It's true." Michelle suddenly piped in.

"Wha-" Arinna's eyes widened just as Nicole slammed the door in her face.

"Okay, you stay over here." Nicole said to Michelle. "I got this."  
>"I faintly remember you screaming that to Arinna before you tackled me down the stairs." Michelle said bluntly.<p>

"…Michelle I am _this close, _to throwing your sorry butt out the window."

"You are the one who insisted on kidnapping me."

"_Michelle."_

In rebuttal, Michelle held her hands up in surrender, and moved to the corner of the room. Snorting at her, Nicole nodded and quickly shuffled down the hall.

Honestly, Nicole was seriously starting to reconsider keeping these two little babies. The hassle of everything that came with them was too frustrating for Nicole to keep her cool.

Pausing to check her reflection in the mirror, she nodded and swung open the door.

Turning at the sound of the door, Agatha smiled. "Good evening Nicole." she mused.

"Good Evening Agatha." Nicole placed her best smile on her face. "How can I help you? You don't usually come around at this time of night. I thought you already went off to bed."

"Ah yes, I do, but I had something I need to take care of it. It was something that involves you." Agatha's smile never left. It was as if it was plastered into her very being.

"…Okay?"

"First off, I am very sorry to bother you so late in the night but… I have a question for you."  
>Nicole blinked a few times. "Uh…" her heart began to race and she grew nervous. "W-What kind of question?" she struggled not to stammer.<p>

"Well, this is going to sound strange, but I was going over the surveillance cameras within the building when I witnessed something… odd." All the warmth in Agatha's smile suddenly vanished.

"What sort of… odd?" Nicole whispered, already knowing the answer. It was like when you break your Mother's favorite vase and run away before she can tell it was you, but she already knows. So when she comes to your room later, acting all sweet, you know it is just some sick trap to make you feel secure and accomplished that you got away with it before she suddenly holds up the broken vase and you get busted.

"The kind of odd where it shows you tackling your neighbor, _Michelle,_ down a stair case." Agatha's voice grew cold. "Mind explaining that?" she folded her arms, her eyes practically threatening to kill Nicole if she made the wrong move.

Yup, this was the Agatha everyone feared so highly. This women meant business.

Nicole could already see the two blades she kept hidden in her boots. Seriously, this women kept blades hidden away in her boots. She had them for emergencies… and to beat up people if she felt like it.

"Uh… Uh…" Nicole gulped. "Oh! _That." _She chewed on her thumb nail nervously. "That is actually a-a funny story. Haha."

"Really? I'd _love_ to hear it."

"Well um… you see… Michelle and I were just… we um… She…" Nicole shivered as sweat pooled down her neck. "I… we…" She was dead meat. No getting out of this one. Next thing you know the cops will come bursting in, guns a blazing!

"Agatha!" behind her, a hand was placed on Nicole's shoulder and she was pulled back. "It is so nice to see you!" The one and only Michelle suddenly stepped out from behind Nicole and out into the hall.

Shocked, both Nicole and Agatha stared at Michelle with wide eyes. "Michelle!"

"That is my name, yes." She smiled. "It is so strange to see you out in the halls at this hour. Is something wrong?" the pure innocence and confusion in Michelle's voice baffled Nicole to no end.

Agatha even seemed to be caught off guard for a few moments before she stammered back to her train of though. "I… I was just asking Nicole about why she tackled you down the stairs a few hours ago."

"Oh, that." Michelle began to giggled. "It was part of our game."

"Game.' Agatha repeated dryly.

"Yes. Nicole was showing me how to play America Football. Since I'm still getting use to the ways of this country I wanted to make sure I didn't mistake England Foot Ball for American Foot Ball."

"So to show you she tackled you down the stairs?"

"Yes." Michelle nodded. "We did not intend to go that far, however we got so into our rambunctious ways, we didn't even pay attention to where we were."

Agatha stared at the two, her eyes wide with disbelief. Glancing over Michelle's shoulder at Nicole, she narrowed her eyes. "Is this true?"

"…Yes." Nicole answered robotically, her mind still swirling around with too many thoughts to come back with any other remarks.

"Sorry about that Agatha." Michelle continued. "I am fine though, honestly. Nicole and me have just been goofing off like that for weeks. We start off just tossing a ball around, rough housing, and then Bob's your uncle, we're toppling down the stair case." She playfully bumped Nicole's arms. "Right?"

"Oh… right…" she nodded numbly.

Agatha stood there for a few minutes, looking the two girls over. "…So I have nothing to worry about?"  
>"Not at all Ma'am." Michelle nodded.<p>

Agatha nodded her head a few times, sighing. "Very well, but please, try to refrain from making so much noise… or tackling each other down the stairs?"

"Will do Ma'am." The two nodded.

The smile growing back onto her gentle features, Agatha chuckled. "Well, have a nice night girls." She turned and disappeared down the hall. Watching her, the two slowly closed the door, keeping their ears to the wood make sure she didn't come back. When they were sure she was gone, they jumped back.

"Girl! You're a genius! Agatha was totally giving me her, I'm gonna skin you alive, look!" Nicole grabbed Michelle's hand and dropped to her knees as if Michelle was an angel from above. "Never leave!"

Michelle laughed a few times, puling Nicole back to her feet. "I gave you my word, I will keep your secret."

Touched, Nicole sniffed. "Thanks…. Now I kind of feel super bad about tackling you down the stairs before."

"I told you before, that is water under the bridge."

"Still feel bad about it though." Nicole sighed. "But man, that was some quick thinking on your part. I never would have thought of using Football to trick Agatha like that."  
>Michelle shrugged. "I suppose it is all in the job description of someone who works for the news. We all must stretch the truth a bit."<p>

"… So you admit everything on the News is a lie?"

"I never said that."

"It kind of seemed like you meant that though."

"Those words never once exited my mouth."

"…." Nicole narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Very well. Arinna! You can come out now."  
>Seconds later, Arinna scrambled out of the closet. "I hate hiding in the closet."<p>

Both Nicole and Michelle chuckled at the sight of Arinna giving them a large pout as the boys tangled themselves around her, tugging and pulling on her cloths, wanting attention.

"I think the babies want to play." Michelle announced.

"Probably. I'm sure they hate being stuck in a small dark closet just like me." Arinna frowned down at them. "Right?" she cooed, giving Sebastian an Eskimo kiss.

Sebastian giggled at the gesture, touching his nose curiously. Reaching up, he touched Arinna's nose, giggling again.

Chuckling, Arinna turned to Picasso and gave him an Eskimo kiss as well. Shocked, Picasso blinked a few times, grabbing his nose. Squeezing it, he looked up at Arinna with wide eyes, unsure of what just happened. Leaning down, Arinna was going to give him another eskimo kiss, but Picasso covered his nose, thinking it was some sort of game.

"….Argh." Nicole growled at the scene, looking away. "Curse those babies and their cuteness!"

-_0000-10:20 PM-000-_

"Here you are." Arinna smiled as she handed Michelle a cup of hot Chocolate.

"Thank you." Michelle took the cup from her hands, gently blowing on it. "So, what is your plan now Nicole?" she inquired.

Taking a large chug of her own drink, Nicole sighed. "Like shell I know."  
>"Shell?" the others frowned.<p>

"Yeah, you know, turtle joke." Nicole motioned to the two sleeping tots they had placed in a mountain of pillows in the corner of the room. "Turtle, Shell. It is like hell but it isn't-"

"We get it." Arinna held up her hand to stop her. "Back to Michelle's question; What are we going to do Nicole?"  
>"Hey, you are the ones who brought them here. Shouldn't you be making up the plan?"<p>

Arinna frowned. "…If I had a plan I wouldn't have come to you in the first place."  
>Nicole sighed. "Okay yeah, I see your point." She took another sip. "In all honesty, I have no clue on what we should do. This is my first experience with this kind of thing. I'm kind of just taking this one day at a time."<p>

"I have often heard that is the best way to go about a situation." Michelle agreed.

"Right, so I say, we forget the plan and just wing it." Nicole concluded.

The two girls looked baffled. "Wing it? The whole thing?"

"Yes." With a nod, Nicole chugged the rest of her drink. "I mean, what is the use of coming up with a plan when we don't even know what to expect? I say we just be prepared for anything. Including Agatha sneaking into the apartment."

Arinna's eyes widened. "She'll sneak into the apartment?"

"If she has reason to suspect that something fishy is going on, yes." Michelle spoke up. 'As long as we act normal around her though and keep our voices down at night, we should have no worries."

"Agreed. I'll just have to call her tomorrow and tell her I'm having a friend stay for a while, so she won't get suspicious that you are living with me." Nicole nodded to Arinna. "And then… um… I dunno. We should really start reading those baby books. Sebastian starting hiccupping earlier and started to freak out cause he wasn't sure what it was, and I didn't know how to make them stop."

"What did you do when he started?" Michelle inquired curiously.

"Well, I picked him up and patted his shell a few times. After a while, they went away on their own." Arinna explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah, and then there is the whole ordeal with Sebastian's legs. We can't let him move around too much in their condition, yet he is a baby and has a short attention span… ugh." Nicole shook her head.

"I was wondering about that. Why does he have sticks wrapped around his legs?" Michelle frowned at the sleeping infant.

"The muscles in his legs are weak and they can't support him. Their very delicate, at least that is what Nicole says." Arinna frowned. Michelle looked at her neighbor, who nodded.

"Yeah. So I wrapped those around his legs to try and keep them straight so he doesn't hurt them. Even just crawling around on the floor is dangerous for him. His legs bruise easily."  
>"The other one, Picasso was it? He seems rather healthy." Michelle noted.<p>

"Yeah." Nicole smiled. "Good thing for that. Then again though, I'm not really a vet, so I don't know if he is completely okay. Bone and muscle wise though, he is doing fine. I dread the day those two get sick though."

"I am sure you'll be able to handle the situation." Michelle said with a gentle smile.

"…Perhaps."

-0000_Current time0000-_

Sighing, Nicole dropped her pen and journal onto her night stand and leaned back against the pillows. Michelle had gone home a few hours ago, but Nicole couldn't help but wonder if she would keep her word or not about their secret.

Would she tell? Would she make a huge report about it and let the whole city know?

Running her hand through her hair, she looked at Picasso. Reaching down she petted his head. He subconsciously leaned into the embrace, wrapping his tiny fingers around her hand to snuggle with it.

Nicole felt her heart melt at the sight. Okay, she admits it, she was really starting to grow attached to these little guys, even if they caused her a lot of trouble.

They were only babies too, it wasn't like they had a choice in what happened to them. They could only hope someone would be kind enough to let them grow until they could make that choice.

Nicole was willing to let them take their time till they could make that choice. She was willing to protect them… and perhaps even raise them.

Not as their Mother, heavens no, but family all the same. Arinna could take the Mother role if nothing else. She was good with kids and stuff anyway, unlike her.

She didn't know the difference between a children's story or an adult horror tale.

Scratching her head, Nicole turned off the light and rested her head to her pillow, patting Picasso's back. Hopefully this little guy could sleep through the whole night without waking up.

She heard from her own Mom that babies would often wake up in the middle of the night crying. Nicole really didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night, or take care of a sobbing infant… but if she had to, then that was that.

"Good Night Picasso." She mumbled as her eyes fell close. "Sweet dreams."

-000Next morning000-

"…Ugh…" Nicole grunted as something smacked her in the face. It wasn't a hard smack, but it annoyed her all the same. "What the-?" she grunted as she was smacked right between the eyes by a little hand. Forcing her eyes open, she blinked a few times as her vision blurred. When it cleared, she huffed to find that Picasso was sitting on her chest, openly hitting her face.

Seriously, he was just hitting her, and giggling every time he did it, as if it was some sort of game.

"Hey." She grumbled when he did it again. "What do you think you are doing?" He patted her nose, pinching it. "Ow." Reaching up, she snatched his hands up, moving them away from her face. "No hitting."  
>He frowned, unsure of why she was suddenly angry. Sighing, she sat up, making the turtle roll onto her stomach. Titling his head up at her, he hopped off of her stomach to circle the bed. Every time he would reach the end of the bed, he would pause, realize there was a drop to get to the bottom, whimper, then move on, only to do the same thing on the other side of the bed.<p>

"Sorry buddy, you can't get down without me helping you." Nicole yawned, rubbing at her eyes. She chuckled a bit when Picasso looked at her, shaking his bottom.

Ever since last night, Arinna had decided to place a diaper on the turtles, just in case there was an _accident. _

It was the strangest thing alive to see a baby turtle crawling around with a diaper on. And judging by home much he kept trying to shake it off, Picasso didn't exactly find it as amusing as her.

Reaching out, Nicole plucked the little baby up and rolled off the bed. "Come on. "she held him out to stare at his face. "Lets get you some food."

-000-Later-000-

"Hey Michelle." Nicole called, giving her neighbor's door a few good bangs. At first there was no response, and Nicole gulped.

Had Michelle snuck out early in the morning to reveal their secrets?

Suddenly, the door flung open and all Nicole's paranoia was tossed to the wind. "Oh." Michelle rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Good Morning Nicole." She greeted.

With a sigh, Nicole nodded. "Morning. Good to see that you are still here."

"Where else would I be?"

"Good question." Nicole stepped back. "So it's 10, just thought I would come check on you."  
>"Already? How time flies." Michelle yawned. "Thank you for the wake up call."<br>"Anytime." The two stared at each other. The awkward silence was unmistakable, but neither of them felt inclined to point it out. "So… bye?" Nicole turned.

"Oh yes… Good Bye…" Michelle trailed off, down casting her gaze. There was a tone in her voice Nicole had recognized a few times in Arinna. It was empty and at the same time, lonely.

Michelle lived alone, right? Plus, she had only recently migrated here from England so she probably didn't have many friends yet.

"….Hey Michelle!" Nicole called just as she began to close the door. Pausing, Michelle looked to her with wide blue eyes. "Wanna um… wanna join Arinna and me for some breakfast? I'm making waffles."

"Waffles…" Michelle rubbed her chin, considering the offer. "Well… yes." Her smiled spread across her face like wild fire. 'I would enjoy that very much! I-If… If you don't mind, of course." She blushed, suddenly growing timid.

"Pfft, not at all." She waved the girl in. "Get on in here."  
>-0000-<p>

"Do we sound strange to you Michelle?" Arinna inquired. Michelle lifted her head, not expecting the odd question.

"Hmm?"

"Do we sound strange to you?" Arinna repeated.

Holding Sebastian in her lap, Michelle titled her head. "I do not understand the question." She admitted quietly.

"Well, we don't have British accents, which is probably what you are use to. So to you, we probably are the ones with the accents. So do we sound strange to you?"

"Oh." Michelle nodded. "I see. I suppose so, yes."

Arinna clapped happily for an unknown reason. "So then, I technically have an accent right now, right? Like, an American accent or something?"

"I'm not sure if that is considered a thing."

"Actually, America has a lot of different types of accents all within the English language." Nicole piped. "I mean, just here in New York we've got some Boston accents."

"You two don't seem to have those though." Michelle pointed out. The two shrugged.

"We don't." they agreed in unison. The three left the conversation at that.

-0000-

"This is so awkward." Nicole grumbled as she placed a few dishes into the sink. Glancing at her, Arinna titled her head.

"What do you mean awkward?"  
>"Michelle. It is weird having her here. It is like I can talk to her, then suddenly it gets super awkward." Nicole explained quietly, looking to the front room where Michelle was playing with Sebastian and Picasso. They seemed to enjoy her company, but then again, they didn't exactly have to work up conversations to get to know her.<p>

Ah, the simple life of babies.

"You just don't know her well enough yet." Arinna insisted. "Give it some time."

"You know I would agree, if she wasn't already in my house where I'm forced to awkwardly just sit there." Nicole grumbled.

"You are the one who invited her in."

"I didn't want her to be lonely." Nicole growled. Arinna smiled gently at her friend.

"Exactly. So don't be so hard on yourself that you can't strike up a conversation with her. You just met and at least you are trying, that is a good sign. Maybe all you need to do is find something in common."

"In common?"

"Yeah, see if you like the same shows, or books, or whatever." Arinna nudged her. "Go on."

Stumbling forward at the push, Nicole frowned. Looking back to Michelle, she shuffled closer, sitting down, hoping she didn't look to awkward as she did it. "…Hey." She nodded when Michelle looked her way.

"…Hi." She nodded back.

"So…." Nicole whistled a bit. "How are you doing here in New York? You like it here?"

"It is very large, a little loud. In truth, very similar to my own city in ways, but very different all the same." Michelle answered. Nicole nodded.

"…Where did you live before New York?"

"Oxford." Michelle smiled.

"Ah. That is a pretty place. My Dad went there once for some business."

Michelle chuckled. "Yes, sometimes my Father would travel for business too."

"Does he still live in Oxford?"

Michelle's smiled fell and she shook her head. "Well no… he… he passed away a few years ago under some… heavy circumstances."  
>"…" The conversation's mood suddenly dropped in just a few seconds. Nicole contemplated on asking Michelle what she meant, but she knew better than to pry on other people's past, especially over the death of a family member. "I…I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't mean-"<p>

"Oh no, it is quite alright." Michelle insisted quickly. "You did not know. I actually moved here to get away from all of that. My old life in Oxford was… well it was getting a little too crazy for my taste."

Nicole snorted. "Only to have you move here where your neighbor ends up having two mutant baby turtles."

"Ah yes." Michelle laughed. "I switched one crazy life for another that is just as mad!" the two shared a good laugh. Behind them, Arinna watched with a smile.

Making friends just took some time.

-0000-

"Nicole, what are you doing?"

Nicole lowered the binoculars in her hands and turned to her best friend and new room mate. "I'm on the look out for Agatha." She answered.

"Why?"

"Well, ever since I got three strange new house guest, yourself included, I need to be on constant surveillance in case Agatha decides to get the jump on me."

"That is ridiculous. Ms. Agatha seems like a very sweet woman and you are taking this way out of proportion."

"That isn't what Jimmy said!" Nicole insisted.

"Who in the world is Jimmy?"

"Our neighbor down the hall. Did I ever tell you the story of him? He was once being super loud and Agatha came up and practically kicked his door down-!"

"I heard she only picked his lock." Michelle spoke up from the other side of the room. It had been 4 days since they had told Michelle of their little secret, and ever since then Michelle seemed to be finding herself in Nicole's apartment more and more. She didn't mind of course, but she sometimes wonder how exactly she ended up in here.

"Picked the lock, kicked the door down, it doesn't really matter. Either way, she broke into his house and gave him a beat down for disturbing the rest of the building." Nicole continued.

"I seriously doubt that." Arinna folded her arms.

"It is true… I think." Nicole shrugged. "Jimmy has never fully admitted to it happening, but he always seems really nervous whenever Agatha is in the vicinity." She turned back to the window to look out, keeping a constant watch for Agatha's car.

Arinna held her hands up in defeat and moved to the kitchen. "You could always go shopping you know, if you are bored."

"No way." Nicole scowled. "I spent a fortune last time I went, and all of it went to Seba and Pica."

"I told you not to call them that." Arinna sighed. 'They are boys, they should have cool boys nicknames."

"But they are babies, they shouldn't have cool names, they should have cute names." Nicole insisted. "Michelle, help me out here." Glancing up from her book for a few seconds, Michelle blinked, lifted the book up and hid her face behind it to avoid be pulled into the conversation. 'Michelle! C'mon~!"

"No thank you."

"Michelle~"

Arinna laughed for a few minutes, reaching to grab her shoes. "Then I'll go shopping… Can I possibly borrow some money?" she asked, looking ashamed. Nicole didn't even look angry anymore as she reached into her pocket.

"Sure thing buddy." She pulled out around 40 bucks and handed it to her. "Just don't get mugged."

"I'll try my best to avoid that." She said honestly. Turning to the boys, she gave the babies a tight hug. "Good bye." She squealed. "Play nice. I'll be back soon." She placed Sebastian and Picasso on the floor before running out of the apartment. Sebastian and Picasso watched her go with wide eyes.

"…Hmm?" A small confused whimper slipped out of Sebastian as he looked around, wondering where Arinna went. Circling the room, he looked to Picasso, his _brother, _and nudged him. Picasso nudged him back and the two continued their search.

"…I believe they are looking for Arinna." Michelle said.

"She literally just left 30 seconds ago. She'll be back soon." She said down to the little tots, unsure if they understood her at all. They looked up at her, their eyes wide.

Suddenly Sebastian hiccuped.

'Ah. No. No no no, don't you do it Seba." Nicole warned, knowing that a hiccup always lead to tears with him. "Arinna will literally be back in 20 minutes or so-"

"WAHHH!" Sebastian began to wail.

"Agh." Nicole slapped her forehead. "Really? Really? C'mon buddy." She scooped the baby into her arms. "How come you do this every time Arinna leaves the room. Look, Picasso is fine." She motioned down to the slightly bigger tot who stared up at them. "He's not even crying-" she froze when tears began to pool in Picasso's eyes. "Wha- WHY!?" she demanded. "Why are you crying too?!"

"Nicole, they are babies. They cry over everything." Michelle smiled.

"Why though?! I kind of get why Seba is crying, but why you Pica?" she knelt down, picking Picasso up as well. Passing the room, she gently bounced the two, hoping to calm them. "Uh… There there. Stop crying." Nicole huffed, mimicking the turtles wails by crying herself. "Wahhhhhhh." She cried sarcastically at the babies. "See how that sounds? Not fun. WAHHHHH."

"Nicole." Michelle sighed. "I do not believe that is the proper way to go about this."

"So says little turtles… Shhh. Shhh. Please stop crying. People will think someone is dying in here and call the cops, shh."

Michelle watched from the corner of the room, looking rather amused with the sight.  
>"You could help me out Michelle." Nicole growled.<br>"It looks like you have things under control though.' Michelle smiled innocently.

"Oh why you- This is pay back for me tackling you, isn't it?!"

"No, whatever gave you that idea?" Michelle inquired, pulling the book back out to continue her reading. Prepared to throw the whole couch at her, Nicole sighed when Sebastian pressed his face into her shoulder, sobbing as though it was the end of the world.

"C'mon on Sebastian. It is alright." She passed a bit more. "What did Arinna say again to make you two stop crying?"

"She sang a song." Michelle announced.

"Oh right. Um… _Hush little Turtles don't you cry. Nicole is gonna sing you a lullaby. Hush little turtles don't say a word, Nicole is gonna buy you a mocking bird_." Nicole sang gently. She was never a singer. Ever. Arinna definitely had the voice for it, but her, heck no! Hopefully these little ones didn't mind how off key and tone she was.

"I wonder if you can buy someone a mocking bird." Michelle asked from her spot in the room. Ignoring her, Nicole continued.

"_If that Mockingbird won't sing, Nicole is gonna buy you a golden ring_- how about a bronze ring or something instead? Cause gold is _really _expensive and I'm on a limited budget-"

"Nicole, that is not part of the song." Michelle reminded her.

"Oh right." She cleared her throat. "Anyway…. _If that gold ring turns to brass_, which is a total waste of money, _Nicole is gonna buy you a looking glass_. Though I don't really think you need one. You probably wouldn't know how to use it, would you Seba." Sebastian, who had stopped crying, stared at Nicole. "Didn't think so. Anyway, _If that glass begins to crack, Nicole is gonna buy you a jumping jack_. Or a jet Pack. That would be fun."

"What is a jumping Jack?" Michelle questioned.

"A guy names Jack who can jump."

"You can purchase one of those?" Michelle looked dumbfounded.

"_If that Jumping Jack is broke-"_

"Poor Jack." Michelle placed a hand on her heart.  
>"<em>Nicole is gonna buy you a velvet cloak. <em>Though if I was going to do that, you two would have to share it. I'm not buying both of you velvet cloaks." She chuckled. "_If that velvet Cloak is coarse, Nicole is gonna buy you a rocking horse." _She nodded. "Now that I could do. I think you two would enjoy a rocking horse."

"Agreed." Michelle nodded.

"_If that Rocking horse wont rock, Nicole is gonna buy you a cuckoo clock. _I'd also go back to the store and demand a refund too, but whatever. _If that cuckoo clock wont tick, _another refund here we come, _Nicole is gonna buy you a walking stick. _I actually might do that for you Seba. I think you need one." She tickled Sebastian under his chin. The little tot giggled, trying to pull away. "_If that walking stick falls down, you'll both still be the sweetest little tots around._"

"I don't think that last one actually rhymed." Michelle raised her hand. "Down, around-"

"Michelle, shh." Nicole commanded when she realized that Picasso had fallen asleep in her arms. Sebastian was close to the same state. She just had to lay them down and they would be out like lights for hours.

Michelle watched quietly, a gentle smile pulling on her lips. Her father used to sing this song for her when she was younger. She felt nostalgic to hear again after so long.

-000Arinna000-

Arinna felt like she was missing something super cute back at home. The boys were probably being adorable and she was missing it! She couldn't miss that!

"I have to hurry and get back." She nodded to herself, picking up her pace. She had never run through a store so fast in her life. She almost took out this couple who were sauntering in the middle of one of the aisles. "Sorry!" she has said when they gave her dirty looks. She was literally out of there in 10 minutes.

Nicole was right though, baby stuff was expensive, and she had only bought baby food this time! And a pack of gum, but Nicole would appreciate that.

Moving out of the store Arinna skipped down the streets with a jump to her step. To think, around a week ago, she would have been sleeping on that bench over there.

Not that there is anything wrong with benches, heavens no. Benches were Arinna's long term friends and comfort against the cold and unforgiving ground. At least on a bench Arinna could attempt to avoid bugs, to a certain extent, and other things.

Passing by a dark alleyway, Arinna jumped at the sound of a large crash. Freezing, mid-step, she slowly turned her head to look down it. At first, she couldn't really see anything, which could be considered good or bad depending on what made that noise.

As she looked closer however, she thought she could see some sort of form pressed up against the trash cans. They were on the ground, hunched over, as if in pain. Was that a person!? Oh no she should-

Little red flags shot through her skull. Nicole had warned her about this.

"_Be wary of who you interact with at night. Who knows who might be trying to get the drop on you." _She said a few days before. Well, though she did say that, Nicole didn't say Arinna couldn't help out an injured person. What if they were badly wounded and they would die if Arinna didn't step in an do something!?

Oh gosh! She had to do something.

Coming to her conclusion Arinna shuffled down the alley way, which was really starting to look rather gloomy and suspicious now that she thought about. "Um…. Uh… E-Excuse me? Sir? Are you alright?" She called, coming to a hault a few feet from the form. They didn't move.

She couldn't tell if they were an adult or teenager from their shadowy form. They weren't as tall as an adult, that was true, yet their body structure, muscle wise, looked similar to a grown man. A very buff man.

"Are you alright?" Arinna took a step closer, squinting her eyes through the dark. What she saw shocked her. No, that wasn't the right word. Horrified? Completely baffled? Astonished? Astounded? Staggered? Arinna struggled to place the words properly in her head, feeling herself fall backwards against the wall. She sat there for a few seconds, her grip tight against the shopping back.

In front of her was no man. Nor a teenager… well, maybe he as a teenager in age, but he wasn't a normal teenager.

He wasn't even human.

_He _was an alligator!

A repeat is required: AN ALLIAGATOR!

"…" Slowly placing down the bags, Arinna straightened and took a deep breath. Holding it in for a few seconds, she lifted her arms and began to wave them wildly, screaming incoherent words of shock and confusion. "sadlfhaosid roi hasjf ljasd ad fnas;dlf What the flip?! No seriously?! What the flip is this?! An Alligator?! REALLY?! Why is he here? Did he escape from the zoo?! He doesn't look like an average alligator! He is sitting like a person would and… and…" she lowered her hands, realizing she had been yelling to an Alligator that wasn't even conscious. If he was he probably would have attacked her or run away by now. "H-Hey…" she lifted her hand hesitantly, inching a little closer.

Now that she was closer, she could finally see them. Wounds. Bruises and scars covered his body, and his rib cage stuck out, his skin practically melting against them. When was the last time he ate?

"Don't…"

Arinna froze. Pulling back her hand, she did a double take. Did it just… speak? "Don't…. tou…ch… me." It growled quietly. "Don't… hurt… me…" he slurred, his eyes fluttering open for a few seconds before shutting and his body toppling over to his side. He definitely out cold now.

Arinna lowered her hands. He was talking to her. He was… intelligent enough to actually speak with her?

Arinna wasn't dumb, even if people believed her to be. She knew how serious this was, and oddly enough, it was a very similar situation to what happened a few days ago with the Sebastian and Picasso.

The only difference, is that this Alligator was hurt. Purposively hurt. Something did this to him. _So…_

Looking back and forth, she ran a hand through her hair. _What should she do?_

**_*HAPPY SQUEAL OF JOY! _**

**_And do you know why? I'm sure you do. I'm sure you know who this Alligator is people. Yup, that's right. My sister gave me an idea for this story, and I took it. She asked to add none other than LEATHER HEAD~_**

**_As a teen no less. _**

**_Basically meaning I picture him being a little smaller than how we usually see him. Like just a few inches smaller than Arinna, but still a little buff. Cause he is awesome like that :D_**

**_ANYWAY! GUESS WHAT PEOPLE! Speak of my sis, she has offered to do me something. She has offered to make a comic out of one of my stories. She would only do one of them though, so I asked her to do this one because I think it would be fun for her to draw this one and for us to see everyone's characters!_**

**_(if this isn't alright with you, please let me know)_**

**_Isn't this exciting!? I'll give you all more details in the next chapter, but for now, there it is! _**

_ATTENTION! ATTENTION. This is a note to the Author Raph J, and Koraru Kinomoto. I hope you both read this. You both told me that your OC's both love and marry Raph. So um…. Yeah. I'm fine if you two want that to happen, but of course, that would be two OC's for the same guy. SO I was hoping you two could talk it over or something and work out some agreement over what happens with dear little Raphie and his love life then let me know what you decide? THANK YOU SO MUCH!_


	5. Information and Alligators

**HEY GUYS! SO THIS CHAPTER IS MOST INFORMATION! **

**Don't worry though, I will be posting a little bit of a new chapter for you guys. Only a little bit though XD**

**Anyway, I just want to let you all know a few important things. **

**_THE COMIC HAS BEEN STARTED! IT HAS! If you want to read it, which some of you have been asking, the link is on the top of my Profile page!__ If for some odd reason it isn't working, just go to Deviantart and look up the profile name Littlebabyturtlelove. You can find it there too :D_  
><strong>

**My Sister is the one drawing the comic, so I thank her very much!**

**ALSO! For those who haven't posted a character to me yet, THERE IS IMPORTANT INFO YOU MUST KNOW. Of course answer the questions I gave you in past chapters, but also, PLEASE LIMIT THE OC CHARACTERS YOU SEND IN TO ONE OR TWO! I will not accept more than two characters. THAT IS FINAL. **

Just because I already have so many Oc's in this story/ in the list going to join the story, and I don't want to get myself or you guys confused with who is who.

Oh, yeah, here is the character list by the way if you want to see it.

_**THE Character LIST (TO HELP ME KEEP TRACK)**_

**Nicole _INTRODUCED_**

**Arinna _INTRODUCED_**

**Picasso (**Blackhooded001**) _INTRODUCED_**

**Sebastian (**EpicThunder101**) _INTRODUCED_**

**Michelle **(Dark Nightwatcher**) _INTRODUCED_**

**Elizabeth (**Koraru Kinomoto**) Love interest to future Leo?**

**Jordan (**koraru Kinomoto**)**

**Alexis and Vanessa (**Rinpup14**) **

**Elsa and Haru (**Erica Phoenix**)**

**Tessa and Kr (**Cryshardy**)**

**Calypso (**ZoAria Blaze**)**

**Agatha Handel (**aerssse. Hasste**) _INTRODUCED_**

**LeatherHead _INTRODUCED _I'm so excited for this! **

**Venus (I'm DOING THIS! I'm not even kidding! Venus will be in this story, and I'm gonna make her awesome. She's gonna kick some butt and actually do something! She wont be a screw up! She wont be just a love interest! She will have a role! A TRUE ROLE!. ….. yeah XD)**

**Tiger Claw (Yeah… that's right. This is happening. He's appearing eventually XD and I'm gonna make it cute. )**

**Shadow (**Mistystar123

**Andi (**HardyGal**)**

**Nikki Watson (**Raph j**) Love interest to future Raph? **

**Filien Levevre (**KitkaKatTIOI)

**Jake Brookfield (**Jack Russel)

**Elisabetta (AKA, Elisa) (**SakuraNinjaress)

**Giovanni (**GC4life**)**

**Victor Reed (**_CrazyCroc1_**)**

**Caterina (**_LunaLoveGood'sbestFriend_**) Possible love interest for future Mikey? **

**Hinata Nanase and Sandro (**Leixym)

**Katniss (**Jasper is hot1

**Tristian and Shane Lawrence **(TurtleBoy89) Guest

**Asami Yoshida and Lupa (**Leofan221)

**Mathew (**RaphaelFanX7)

**Douglas Owen Scott Henderson (**Yellowskies9)

**Danielle Roselle Leve'fre **(Danielle)

**Disiree Erikson Aka DEZ (**newtb00)

So know you all get a look at who will be coming. Also, if you are still thinking of sending characters, please try to use characters that don't already have these names XD Just so I people don't get confused when there are two Nikki's or whatever running around XD

**Anyway, that is all the stuff I have to say for today. Thank you so much for reading and participating in this story. I really love writing this story for you guys, and I hope you love it too. If any of you have some sort of event or suggestion you want to add to the story, please don't hesitate to tell me. **

**This is a story for you guys after all. You will be the ones to decide what happens it it :D**

_OH! AND HERE IS A LITTLE BIT OR WRITING FOR YOU GUYS FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER!_

* * *

><p>Michelle was dumbfounded to say the least. The sight before her was… it was strange and it made her worried. A little after Arinna had left and Nicole had finished her song for Sebastian and Picasso, they had journeyed to her apartment down the hall so Nicole could look at her pictures.<p>

Sebastian and Picasso didn't seem to care for them, but Nicole truly enjoyed them.

"These are amazing Michelle!' Nicole gasped, circling the room where pictures and newspaper articles lined the walls. "You did all of this?"

"Yes." Michelle chuckled. "It is my passion."

"Whoa." Nicole beamed. "This is so cool." Nicole paused to stare at a Photo the was held between a black frame. It was resting against Michelle's book shelf and had a picture of an older man and a much younger Michelle. "Hey, is this your Dad?" Nicole inquired, seeing the similarities between her new friend and the man.

Michelle's eyes widened. "Oh…" she shuffled to the book shelf, grabbing the picture. "…Yes."

"He looks like you. Or, I guess I should say you look like him." Nicole chuckled as Picasso and Sebastian plated around her feet.

Michelle's smile was gentle, but held a sadness behind them. "I have always been told I have his eyes and smile."

"I can see it." Nicole nodded, feeling a little off put by Michelle's sudden lost in joy. "Is… something wrong?"  
>"No. No." she waved it off quickly. "I was just thinking of my Father. As I said before he passed away a few years back."<br>Nicole nodded. "Yeah."  
>"…I never really got to say good-bye to him." Michelle explained. "One minute he was there, and the next, he wasn't. He was…" she trailed off. "He was taken from me."<p>

"Taken?" Nicole frowned. "What… do you mean?"

Michelle began to shake her head. "It is all in the past now. I've moved on and I will not have to worry about it any more." She said to herself, placing the picture back on the shelf. "I apologize for bringing the topic up. You do not need to worry Nicole."

"…Okay." Nicole frowned. Though how could she not be worried by the way Michelle just acted? She supposed Michelle had her own dark past and secrets too. She wouldn't pry.

The two were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a frantic banging on Michelle's apartment door. "Oh?" she frowned. "Who could that be?"

"Agatha?" Nicole guessed.

"Well it is alright if it is here. You should not be so worried over Agatha Nicole. She is a lovely person." Michelle tutted.

"I know that… but the fact that she can reveal our secret or come bursting in at any second worries me." Nicole mumbled as Michelle made her way to the door.

Opening it, Michelle's eyes widened at the horrible sight in front of her. "Arinna!" Michelle gasped in shocked as the young adult shuffled into her apartment building, soaked in water and mud. "What happened to you?"  
>Nicole rose to her feet, just as shocked. "Arinna?!"<p>

"You… weren't in your apartment." Arinna looked to Nicole, her voice barely above a whisper. "So I cam here." Instead of answering their original question, she looked at the ground.

"Arinna." Nicole mumbled. "I… yeah, sorry about that. Michelle had some pictures she wanted to show me. "But… what happened to you? Did someone try to mug you?" Nicole's words earlier about warning Arinna not to get mugged echoed in her brain. Oh gosh, had she jinxed her friend?

"No." Arinna voice grew louder, than shrunk again. "No." she repeated. "I wasn't mugged."

"Then… what happened?"

The room was quiet for a few minutes. The only sound made was when Arinna knelt down to pick Sebastian up because he was constantly pulling on her pant leg. "I kind of… found something." She said.

"Kind of?" Michelle asked.

"Well no… I… I _did _find something."  
>"You found something." Nicole narrowed her eyes, "As in?"<p>

Arinna shuffled nervously. "I think it would be better if I show you." She said.

"Okay."

"In your room." Arinna motioned down the hall towards Nicole's room.

"You brought whatever weirdo thing into my house?" Nicole demanded. "I swear, there better not be anything super creepy in there."

"Define creepy."

"…." Nicole narrowed her eyes, not feeling happy with Arinna tone and question. "Something that could kill me."

"Well then it could be considered creepy." Arinna nodded to herself.

"Then I don't want to go in there!" Nicole yelped.

"Nicole please. I need your help. You are the only person I can go to about this." Arinna pleaded. Groaning in frustration, Nicole turned back to Michelle, who shrugged.

Sighing, she turned back around to say, "It better not be another Baby turtle." She reached down to pick up Picasso, handing him to Michelle, who didn't mind hold him.

"I can assure you it definitely isn't that." Arinna nodded, motioning down the hall. Sighing, Nicole pushed past her and towards her room. Her two friends followed behind her, Michelle looking curious while Arinna bit her thumb nervously.

"Promise me you wont freak out?" Arinna called just as Nicole reached for the door handle. Nicole hesitated.

"…Would I freak out if I saw it?"

"Maybe." Her friends shrugged.

"Then I can't promise." Nicole growled.

"Nicole!"

"Ah! Fine, fine. I promise I won't freak out." Nicole grumbled, throwing open the door and moving inside. Piling in, Arinna quickly closed the door behind her and locked it. Motioning for the others to follow, she lead them into the living room, where a new quest was seated.

….Kind of.

"AHH!" Michelle and Nicole pointed to the couch in unison as the sight of Nicole's new _guest _could be seen. He was sprawled out on the couch, his arms hanging off of it and his head resting against a pillow.

It wasn't a person though….

It was an alligator. A friggin' Alligator!

"Hehe…. Ta-da~." Arinna smiled nervously.

"AHHH! AHHH! AHHH!" Nicole began to wiggling her hands in a sort of 'Jazz hands' sort of way around her cheeks, shaking her head and running in place.

"Nicole you said you wouldn't freak out!" Arinna yelled.

"That was before I knew you brought an alligator i-i-i-in to my house!" she shrieked in terror, diving behind the table. "Get it out of here! Where in the world did you even get that?! You know what, I don't wanna know! Just get it out of my out!"

"But he needs help!" Arinna argued.  
>"Now it's a <em>he?!" <em>Nicole gawked at her friend from behind the table.

"He has always been a he! He isn't an _it!'_ He is dehydrated, and deprived of food and most likely sleep." Arinna argued. "And he is hurt! That is why I need you! You're the only person close to a Doctor that I know!"

"I don't care about that!" Nicole sobbed. "You know how I feel about A-A-Alliga-go- AHH!' Nicole couldn't even seem to finish her sentence. Curling into a ball, she rolled under the table.

The whole room fell silent after that, neither of the two girls knowing exactly what to say. "…Nicole." Arinna said softly. "I know this is probably tough for you-" she paused when Nicole whimpered in agreement. "But this Alli- um…" she was hesitant to say the word. "This person is different. He talked to me! He can speak!"

"Speak?" Michelle looked shocked, keeping at a far and safe distance from the beast. "Are you sure that is even a good thing?!"  
>"Yeah I was just as shocked! I think he is some sort of… of… uh, Nicole, what was that word you used to describe the boys?" Arinna peeked under the table at her friend, who was rocking back and forth.<p>

'Mutant." She answered quietly.

"Right, a mutant. I believe he is a mutant too!"

Nicole sniffed and rolled onto her side, away from Arinna. "No."

"Nicole?" Michelle looked under the table at Nicole, shocked by her unwillingness to help someone, even if it was a mutant, who was in need of help. "I mean, it is shocking but… this is kind of over exaggerating, is it not?"

"I really…" Nicole hugged herself. "…Really can't _handle _alligators very well." Nicole mumbled into her knees. "I hate them."

"She doesn't hate them." Arinna corrected. "She has this huge fear over them because of the time when she was 8 and went to the Zoo."

"What happened at the Zoo?" Michele inquired.

"Long story short, Nicole got a little too close to the edge of the exhibit and fell into the Alligator's habitat." Arinna sighed.  
>"Ooh." Michelle winced. "How dreadful."<br>"Yeah." Nicole nodded in agreement. "I almost didn't get out of there alive."

"They pulled you out literally 2 minutes after you fell in. The Alligators barely even noticed you were there." Arinna corrected.

"So says the person who was out of the exhibit and laughing and me the whole time!" Nicole wailed.

"It was funny!" Arinna threw her arms in the air.

"It was not!"

**Haha, well, that is all for now! Stay tune for more! :D**


End file.
